An Oklahoma state senator was charged with child prostitution after being found with a 17-year-old boy in a motel last week.

Ralph Shortey, a Republican and a leader of President Trump's campaign in Oklahoma, was found to have texted the boy, offering money in exchange for "sexual stuff."

Police in Moore, Oklahoma, said the teen's father tipped them off. They smelled marijuana coming from a Super 8 motel and found Shortey and the teen inside.

While Oklahoma's age of consent is 16, the prostitution law applies to any person under 18.

Shortey was sanctioned by his state senate colleagues, who voted 43-0 to accuse him of "disorderly behavior." This bans him from membership and leadership of Oklahoma Senate committees, blocks him from attending his Capitol office and removes his ability to write bills. However, he will keep his job.

The Oklahoma Senate has full faith that the judicial system will play out appropriately and bring this matter to a lawful conclusion.

Mike Schulz

Oklahoma Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Schulz said the sanctions were not meant to be interpreted as a "presumption of guilt or innocence."